The Adventures of Gus and Janice: Rome and Spring Break

So if you are a first-time EF Tour leader, you get a free weekend training tour. Well, after having been back in the US for less than 3 weeks from London, I boarded my free flight to Rome (via Portland and Amsterdam) on Thursday, Feb 11th. We met at the Rome airport--a bunch of teachers from all over the country, some of whom were first time travelers! From the airport we headed into the city, and we started at Trevi Fountain. We had a few minutes to grab a snack and explore the area as it was early afternoon. Then we headed to the Pantheon and on to Navona Square, where we had time to explore before enjoying a group dinner, then heading to the hotel to crash. This is similar to how things work on an actual EF tour. Throughout the experience (any time we were on the coach or even as we walked) we got information on how our tours would work, both through planned mini-lectures and through Q&A with our guides and the experienced teachers with us.

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Navona Square and surrounding streets

Saturday was a full day, with a group tour of the Colosseum and the Forum, the Vatican Museum, and St. Paul's before returning to Navona Square, where we were able to have dinner on our own or in small groups. I joined some ladies for lunch, then met up with others for gelato and getting lost in the cobbled streets of old town Rome. Super fun! Then it was back to the hotel to crash hard!

Colosseum

Palatine Hill

Colosseum

Inside the Vatican Museum

Inside St. Paul's Cathedral

The Vatican/St. Paul's

Sunday was another packed day, with a morning classroom session followed by a group lunch and then back into the city for free time. We started at the Spanish Steps and gradually separated. I actually headed out on my own and ended up at a gallery that had an exhibit of medieval Chinese art. Then I found Largo di Torre Argentina, a ruin in a square I remembered from my childhood that was known for its cats. I met a nice local man and chatted for awhile, then continued into the Jewish Quarter (which I hadn't known about). This was one of the most fascinating parts of Rome I have ever seen. Then I saw the white marble of the Monumente Vittorio Emanuele turn pink in the late evening sun before heading up a hill, finding an overlook, and then heading downhill. I knew I needed time to find the Trevi Fountain. As it turns out, the straight line I took down the hill dumped me out at the fountain! Since I was early, I enjoyed sitting by Trevi Fountain as darkness set in on Valentine's Day evening. Even without Gus, with a big crowd, and with a light drizzle starting, it was pretty magical!

Cat on a ruin and a stunning evening

Sunset over a ruin at the edge of the Jewish quarter

Sunset at "the Typewriter"

Rome is magical at night!

Trevi Fountain on Valentine's Day

It is magical. This picture doesn't do it justice.

My flight out was pretty early, so after just a few hours' sleep I, along with a few other teachers from our group, headed out. A bunch of us flew to Amsterdam together, then one other teacher and I caught a flight to Portland before I headed home to Eugene, where Gus picked me up with flowers for Valentine's Day (purchased at half price since it was the day after Valentine's Day!) after a successful free weekend in Rome.

Only a month after returning from Rome, Gus and I actually led our EF tour. We took 15 students, some of whom had never traveled outside of Oregon or been on an airplane, to Europe. We started in Limerick, Ireland, then spent a morning at Bunratty Castle and village before heading to Killarney, stopping in Adare along the way. The next day we took a tour of the Ring of Kerry (wow!). Then it was off to Blarney (yes, we kissed the stone) and then to Eniskerry outside Dublin. We spent a day touring Dublin (seeing the Book of Kells among other things), then boarded a ferry for Wales, where we visited Beaumaris castle and Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the island of Anglesey. We drove through Wales. The next day we visited the Lake District and Gretna Green on our way to Edinburgh. Then it was a day of touring Edinburgh and an evening train ride to London. We spent Easter in London, which was completely a deja vu for us! Details and pictures of that are on my student blog if you are truly interested.

So that's two more trips to Europe I took this year, but I am not done!